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Writing from South Korea

April 2014

april-2014-south-korea-do-ho-suh-fallen-star
Image: Do Ho Suh, "Fallen Star," 2012 © Do Ho Suh. Stuart Collection, University of California, San Diego. Photo: Philipp Scholz Rittermann

Image: Do Ho Suh, “Fallen Star,” 2012 © Do Ho Suh. Stuart Collection, University of California, San Diego. Photo: Philipp Scholz Rittermann


This month we’re spotlighting South Korea. Although the country is among the ten largest book markets in the world, relatively few of its writers have been translated into English, and many emerging writers were largely unknown outside South Korea. Kyung-sook Shin’s Man Asian Prize sparked new interest and contributed to the increased visibility of the country’s thriving literary culture. The writers here, ranging from the perennial Nobel nominee Ko Un to the precocious Ae-ran Kim, demonstrate the depth and variety of contemporary South Korean literature. Kyung-sook Shin follows a lovesick young soldier. Ae-ran Kim’s disaffected teen tries to escape her battling parents, as Kim Young-ha goes in search of an absent father. Han Kang’s enigmatic wife gives up meat and sex. Han Yujoo mourns a death and battles writer’s block. Park Min-gyu and Yi Mun-yol find their workplaces transformed. In a poem from his multivolume epic Ten Thousand Lives, Ko Un depicts the human side of history. In other poetry, Shim Bo-seon yearns for magic, Kim Sa-in reminisces, Kim Soo-Bok reflects on fertility and the sea, and Jeong Ho-seung books a trip to hell. We thank the Literature Translation Institute of Korea for its generous support, and our advisors Martin Alexander and Sora Kim-Russell.

Say Ah, Pelican
By Park Min-gyu
Eventually the boats were no more than little dots in the sky
Translated from Korean by Jenny Wang Medina
from “I’ll Be Right There”
By Kyung-sook Shin
When whales swim toward the coastline, they sound like North Korean spy submarines.
Translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell
Learn
Injeolmi Rice Cakes
By Kim Sa-in
I would collapse on the warm floor and sleep like a cat.
Translated from Korean by Brother Anthony of Taizé & Susan Hwang
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The Vegetarian
By Han Kang
“Your body smells of meat.”
Translated from Korean by Deborah Smith
Learn
Lament
By Han Yujoo
I can’t write a single sentence.
Translated from Korean by Janet Hong
Multilingual
The Suit
By Young-ha Kim
He finally realized why Alex had hired an investigator and invited him to the US.
Translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell
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Ascending Scales
By Ae-ran Kim
Mi-yeong and I tried to grab the piano legs, but it was too late.
Translated from Korean by Jamie Chang
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Gamak Valley
By Ko Un
If an unfamiliar man appears, their eyes light up.
Translated from Korean by Brother Anthony of Taizé & Lee Sang-Wha
Multilingual
My Wife’s Magic
By Shim Bo-Seon
I want to live in a world that’s perfect like magic.
Translated from Korean by Brother Anthony of Taizé & Eun-Gwi Chung
Multilingual
Winter That Year
By Yi Mun-yol
As the late autumn winds began to blow, the place came alive.
Translated from Korean by Brother Anthony of Taizé
Earning My Keep
By Jeong Ho-Seung
I think I’ll go pay a visit to Hell.
Translated from Korean by Brother Anthony of Taizé & Susan Hwang
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Mud Flats
By Kim Soo-Bok
At dawn a ship leaves, cutting through her stomach.
Translated from Korean by Brother Anthony of Taizé
Multilingual